Pink Hair and Tobacco Smoke
by Blue Scorpio
Summary: An imagining of Genkai early in her youth and past dealings with Demon and Spirit World approximately 50 years before Yusuke's story begins.
1. Pink Hair and Tobacco Smoke

Under the shadow of the leaves, hidden from the light of the twin moons, she pressed her back against the rough trunk of a towering tree, gently inhaling on a nearly spent cigarette. In a sea of wood and leaves she was well concealed against those she had sensed following her, and they were approaching fast. She wrinkled her nose in disgust at their demonic energy.

Demon City wasn't known for very many demons above type "D", but these were much stronger, harder to evade, possibly high "B" types.

_The intelligence was right…Koenma, you dumbass, _she thought.

With one final puff of the cigarette, she exhaled and began hopping branches with such ferocious speed she looked as though she were sprinting on air, a light-pink blur. The blackened leaves of the rotten forest she was navigating zipped by making sounds like a crow's wing through the air, the putrid stench of this world's air seemed intensified at this speed. She regretted not being able to put a dispersive aura around herself, but it would have attracted a horde of lower class demons to her location. She would just have try breathing through her mouth as much as possible.

But before she had much time to marvel at the vile stench the strong demonic entities she had sensed began to materialize on her left and right suspended in air.

They had arrived.

Suddenly, she felt herself falling through the branches of the treetops being dragged down by her ankles. She kept her face straight up to avoid the worst scratches hitting the foul earth at the bottom with a soft "thud". Around her legs were anklets of red light that bound both her feet, but just before she could dispel them she was hit by a barrage of orange spheres from somewhere in the tree tops.

She tried gathering herself but not a second later was assaulted by a blinding flash of red and she could feel her limbs and torso becoming worn and bruised from a flurry of punches and kicks. It appeared they would give her a good exercise.

Centering her energy before she could sustain too much damage she unleashed a blue aura that blasted her assailant back to the leaves and branches above. With her legs free again from the anklets she too jumped back into the upper levels.

Breaking through the dense brush of leaves she was greeted by the presence of two demons, both wearing matching uniforms with a central emblem on each.

"Genkai, of Human World, state your business here," one said.

"Oh, so I was expected?" she replied in the softest of tones, "You can tell your master his welcoming committee is piss poor."

Icy glares met her as she ripped the tattered sleeves off her outfit revealing toned, sinewy arms.

"If demons of your caliber are present around Demon City than you know exactly why I'm here," she said, parting some pink hair behind her ear. "It's here too, isn't it?"

With her question they assumed fighting stances and evaporated into the air in an instant and rushed her. She blocked each of their kicks with her forearms with ease enough to flutter her earthy brown eyes and reveal a wide grin.

In the eternal night, the three disappeared in a blur of punches and kicks.


	2. Ultimatum

It had been nine years since her tenth birthday she had isolated herself to train in the mountains. Her entire life Genkai knew she was different, and it wasn't the fact that at age three she could already see and sense apparitions; not even when at age seven she first channeled her spiritual energy and exorcised her first demon, if only the result of a tantrum. No, if her psychic ability had been of any gift to her it was her ability do divine the future, if ever so slightly, but to even catch a glimpse, a feeling, or an emotion of the future is immeasurable in coins or jewels. From before her bubblegum-pink hair had grown past her neckline she knew it was her duty to become stronger for one day her strength and abilities would be of serious consequence in the not so distant future.

To those ends she had dedicated her spirit to getting stronger and faster, and she did. And here she was on the outskirts of Demon City fighting two demons of sizeable strength.

"Return to your word, human," said one of the pair, "there is nothing for you or Spirit World here."

To an onlooker with even a sliver of spiritual awareness the demon pair and Genkai were hardly seen as anymore than phantom-figures in flight in the sky where the occasional arrant fist or foot could be seen having missed its target.

Every so often one of the three took their turns firing energy attacks and it might have looked like a meteor shower in the grimy, purplish haze of the sky but the air was saturated with a foul, vaporous quality both spiritual and physical that would have turned the lungs of an ordinary human to dust in seconds.

"Quite the contrary, I'm sure," she replied, holding back her hand in an energy charge. "It takes only one mouth to give me the information I need so one of you is about to die, fair warning."

With her last word she evaporated in place to a distance behind both by several meters and released her charging attack in a spray of blue light. Not to her surprise, the demon pair was not equally experienced as only one had successfully anticipated her attack and dodged. The other was a wisp of smoke and black dust blowing in the wind.

"Please, give me the information I need and I will promise to make your passing as little painful as possible."

"Disgusting human wench, you underestimate my strength?"

Genkai had made that mistake several times before and learned after the third. Around her adolescence she encountered a small town under the control of a demon of miniscule size but of considerable power, a power she was still too green to have given credit for, she was still just a child. The demon had possessed all the townspeople and had nearly killed her because she allowed it to fortify itself with the spirits of those it had possessed, and she, brazenly remarking at how such a worm could never beat a girl of her strength. She was technically right, but the process left her with two broken arms and a leg. Pain so raw and brilliant she passed out several times in the demon's assault. It was a game to the demon who had begun snapping her limbs like twigs, but it was his mistake not to break all before tossing the young Genkai to the ground, with a final blast of energy she blew its head off with her useable arm, and swiftly passed out. It was also around this time Genkai discovered she had an incredible gift of healing as she was back training again in a month's time. No, underestimating her opponent was the last thing she would do, the tortuous memory of her bones cracking underneath her flesh would never quite leave her for years to come.

"I'm going to complete my assignment in this sad excuse of a world you call home with or without your help, but with your help I promise you will suffer significantly less."

Her deep brown eyes peered deeply into the black, glassy pits of the demon's almost as if she actually did care of its suffering.

_Silence_

No reply. Not even possibly lost in the wind rancid wind that howled. Standing several meters across from her she could see nothing, no inclinations or signs to relay the information she was seeking in the contorted features of the demon's face. Its pale green skin seemed all the paler in the light of the moons above and almost waxy like that of a cadaver. Genkai knew of this demon's type, it was proud. It would not talk.

"Fine, demon."

The two leapt in the air both releasing small explosions of their energy in a strobe of blue and red light. Tree began disintegrating around them and lower level demons attracted to the scene hidden in the leaves burned away with them. It was almost a pissing contest of power to see who could release the most energy in the widest area, but it became quite apparent that Genkai had the upper hand.

With a swift dash into the maroon energy enveloping the demon Genkai seized the demon by the throat with one hand, already glowing blue. Stunned by her speed the demon gawked at her for a second and without missing a beat brought an arm that sizzled with a red halo around the fist to her chin, but she angled her head just enough to feel the heat of the demons attack and with her free hand took the demon's wrist and pulled its arm off releasing a green river of thick, jelly-like blood.

"Filthy human what have you –"

In a surge of blue electricity that ran from Genkai's arm to her opponent's neck the demon began to convulse, and after a moment of feeling the demon's energy sink lower and lower until it was entirely absent Genkai released her grip revealing scorch marks along the demon's throat and let the body fall through the leaves where she heard it hit the ground.

_Koenma, did you see that?_

_ Yes, Genkai, we were right on the money with this one._

_ I know._

_ Can you feel any other large presences around?_

_ No….wait, yes. They're revealing themselves. _

_ Then they know you're there and they know Spirit World and my Father are also aware of the situation. Genkai, you know what to do._

"Right, then."

With the end of her conversation, Genkai began navigating the trees in the direction of the energies she had sensed, having already sparked up another cigarette in her small mouth.


	3. Roka

It had been two days since her last encounter but now she knew she was close. The aura of demonic energy had strengthened significantly; no weaker apparitions could materialize within the borders, which Genkai had just passed, or they risked being erased in their current form and rewritten as a part of the powerful entity generating the field. Genkai had already seen it happening. Tiny imps and mindless "E" class demons were disintegrating in the air and she felt for every one of them dying the aura strengthened.

Her escort was supposed to meet her around this area. Much past the rendezvous point was completely foreign to Genkai, never having left too far from the borders of Demon City. Koenma had appointed an apparition in service to his Father to assist her in travel to the source.

"Where the hell?"

She waited an hour longer on one of the smoother branches above. With the aura killing off the weaker apparitions like a massive, spiritual bug zapper Genkai took a moment to herself to meditate on the task at hand.

The anomalous source of the aura had to be found and neutralized. That was the easy part, granted the damn escort arrives before she died of old age. The second task to be completed was finding the relic that had been stolen from its sanctuary. No one, not even Koenma's Father was entirely aware of the relic's power; only that in dark hands it could be used as a terrible weapon. That's why they had sent her. The thought caused a vein to bulge in her temple.

Genkai had never been one for personal favors. But what the hell do you do when the king of Spirit World requests your service? Damn.

"You would think they could handle this on their own with all the damn apparitions at their disposal," she yelled.

"Well that's why I'm here," came a voice.

Before thinking about it Genkai had shot three silver flashes in the direction of the voice, but there was no screaming or cursing, there was no smoke or dust left behind, no trace of the voice.

"What's your problem lady? I was sent by Spirit World, relax."

"Show yourself, I can't sense your presence."

"Well, I should hope not, that's why Spirit World picked me for this assignment."

A second later in a dust devil of dirt and leaves the apparition took form, a wind apparition it seemed by the sudden burst of aura. The light and bubbly voice that had taken Genkai by surprise belonged to a tall, lean apparition. Her hair, a simple black was short and seemed to frame her face perfectly stopping just above her neck. Accenting her black tights were her blue eyes that seemed to shimmer with white sparks like a stone being skipped on a pond.

"My name is –"

"Never mind your name. Tell me why I was unable to sense your energy," Genkai said sharply.

"So rude! I haven't met many humans but I hope rudeness doesn't run too deep in your kind," the apparition said hotly, her face turning a slight pink. "My name is Roka and the reason you couldn't sense me was because I was exerting demon and spirit energy at precisely equal amounts. Not even Koenma could have spotted me on his monitor."

_Good then, you have been introduced. Now, you can begin this mission. _

_ Koenma, sir? You didn't mention in my briefing that the human known as Genkai was so blatant and ill-tempered._

_Sorry, Roka. I knew you would find out for yourself either way so I decided to let things take their natural course. I can already tell you both are hitting it off just great, haha._

_ Cut the crap, Koenma and explain this one to me. _

_ Ah, Genkai, always the go-getter. Very well then, your partner Roka is only half-demon. I won't take up your time with the details but long story short Roka is the product of her wind demon father and her psychic, human mother. She is capable of using both her demon and spirit energies and this is why she is perfect for this stealth mission. I think Roka already gave you the rest. _

_ Fine then, whatever. The half-breed can lead._

_ Mind your manners, Genkai, you may find Roka a valuable ally yet._

_ Thank you for the kind words, Koenma, sir._

_ That's it now; you both watch each other's backs. The situation is delicate._

With that Koenma was gone again and it was just Roka and Genkai.

"Alright, I'm going to need you to suppress your energy as best you can that way I can mask us both easier. A human like you should be able to manage that much," Roka said smirking a little.

"Fine," Genkai replied, hiding any sign of annoyance by tying her hair up tightly in a bun.

Genkai centered herself and like a large beach ball being deflated let the air run past her lips and leave her body, and with it her energy began to fold and shrink inside. What was a roaring furnace a moment ago was now a candle's flame in the palm of her hand.

"Good. Now we can go undetected," Roka said.

Genkai rolled her eyes and waited for Roka to take the lead into the trees but not before she rolled her own.


End file.
